Reward offered for info leading to arrest of Woodland cat killer

RedRover, a national nonprofit animal protection organization based in Sacramento, is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and arraignment of the person who shot and killed the 3-year-old tabby cat named Annie, it was announced Wednesday.

Annie's owner, Amanda Hartman of the 1500 block of Owens Valley Drive in Woodland, came home from work March 13 to find Annie motionless on her front porch, "laying funny," she said.

Hartman rushed her to UC Davis Small Animal Clinic thinking she had been hit by a car. There, veterinarians determined that Annie had a pellet gun bullet lodged near her spine and was partially paralyzed.

The orange tabby cat was sent home with medication and pain reliever, but died from her injuries nine days later on March 22.

"We hope our reward will encourage someone who knows more about this blatant animal cruelty to come forward with information that could solve this crime and make the community safer," said RedRover President and CEO Nicole Forsyth in a statement. "Violence toward animals is often a precursor to violence toward people, so Woodland residents have a stake in seeing that whoever committed this illegal act is punished to the full extent of the law."

A study conducted by the Massachusetts SPCA and Northeastern University showed that people who abuse animals are five times more likely commit violence against people, four times more likely to commit property crimes, and three times more likely to be involved in drunken or disorderly offenses, according to RedRover.

RedRover pledges rewards around the country to encourage witnesses to step forward with information about animal cruelty crimes and to highlight the need for harsher punishments in such cases.

"My cat suffered terribly as a result of this senseless cruelty, and now my family misses her," Hartman told the nonprofit. "We have had Annie since she was a baby, and she was known as the friendliest cat on the block. Please, if you know someone who has a pellet gun, talk to them and ask if they know anything."

Nonprofit organizations have frequently offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for animal cruelty in Yolo County. In November, Woodland's Rotts of Friends Animal Rescue, off County Road 29, offered $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of whoever abused "Doogie," a puppy who was so malnourished his breed was unidentifiable.

Rotts founder Renee Lancaster described him as "a little walking skeleton," and said his was one of the worst cases of abuse she'd seen.

Unlike Annie, Doogie's plight has a happy ending. Lancaster and an army of volunteers nursed the now-10-month-old puppy back to health and are looking to place him in his forever home. He has since been identified as a Mastiff mix with some hound. He weighs 72 pounds now, and will likely be around 90 pounds when he is full grown, said Lancaster.

Doogie's abuser has not been caught.

Anyone with information about Annie or Doogie's cases is encouraged to call the Yolo County Sheriff's Office at 668-5287, option 0.